Published: Friday, September 21, 2007
By David Moin
wwd.com
Old Navy has hired Todd Oldham as creative director, effective Oct. 1, Gap Inc., parent company of Old Navy, announced Friday.

Gap said Oldham will divide his time between New York and San Francisco, where Gap and Old Navy are based, and play a key role in developing and implementing the merchandise creative direction at Old Navy.

Old Navy has been struggling with negative sales trends and has been losing market share to nimbler competition, though recently analysts have cited improvements in the merchandise and assortments that are easier to shop.

Oldham plans to also develop and launch a line of merchandise under the Todd Oldham name to be sold exclusively at Old Navy stores.

“Todd’s successful career in fashion and design has distinguished him as an innovative creative thinker who also understands how to appeal to a broad audience,” said Dawn Robertson, president, Old Navy. “He understands and appreciates Old Navy’s new positioning and fashion potential and will help elevate and evolve Old Navy.”

As much as I dislike saying it, Old Navy is in dire need of a different direction. I don't think their clothing should be changed too much, since they've already got a concrete image, but it just seems like there's something missing in their pieces. I like going in their stores occasionally and purchasing the basic shirt or dress, but that's all I do. If they created more interesting and eclectic clothing, while keeping the same price, I may shop more.

excerpt from a nytimes story
wwd suggests that he might develop housewares for old navy.

Todd Oldham’s New Assignment: Old Navy

Mr. Oldham will oversee clothing design and eventually create a line of merchandise for the chain sold under his name, which now appears on items from flower arrangements at FTD to a fashion show on MTV.
Dawn Robertson, the president of Old Navy, said Mr. Oldham would focus on shoppers in their 20s, whom the chain has identified as its target market after years of “trying to be all things to all people.”
As a result of that strategy, Old Navy’s store sales have fallen or remained stagnant for four years, a particularly poor performance even within Gap Inc., whose troubles are legion.
Mr. Oldham, a former couture designer, has largely left the fashion industry, instead favoring home décor and furniture.
Now, Ms. Roberston said, he wants to return to clothing, but ensure his designs reach a broad audience. Old Navy, with sales of nearly $7 billion, is bigger than its corporate siblings, Gap and Banana Republic.
Ms. Robertson said Mr. Oldham’s clothing for Old Navy would be “modern and relevant,” adding that “it will be an important part of our turnaround.”

he did a clothing line for target maybe in 2001.
it was similar to his juniors line that was in macy's and filenes (and other department stores) which i LOVED. (the clothes were kinda utilitarian and futuristic which is what i was into at the time) my mother was crazy over the juniors clothing as well.
he also did a home line for young people at target. i ended up buying a lot of home stuff as it was pretty dorm friendly. i still have a trash can. it says "trashed" on it.

Oldham, who also has design deals with La-Z-Boy and Target, will develop a line under his label to sell exclusively at Old Navy stores, Gap said Friday.

Dawn Robertson, president of the Old Navy division, called the pairing "a huge win for both of us" and said Oldham, 45, would help "elevate and evolve" the brand.

"Todd's successful career in fashion and design has distinguished him as an innovative creative thinker who also understands how to appeal to a broad audience," she said in a statement.

The Texas-born Oldham's offbeat fashion designs helped make him a star early in his career, and he has since branched out in many directions. He signed on with Target in 2002 to launch a line of dorm furnishings, creating an alliance that has since become commonplace between high-end designers and low-cost retailers.

Oldham operates a design studio under his name, is host of "Todd Time" on MTV's "House of Style" and has even designed floral arrangements for FTD.com.

"He's really become a brand in and of himself," said Debra Stevenson, marketing committee chairwoman for Fashion Business Inc. in Los Angeles.

He'll need some magic to reel shoppers back into Old Navy stores, a top priority for the San Francisco-based parent of almost 3,100 Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic stores. Mired in a three-year sales slump, the company has been enlisting a rash of new talent to try to right itself.

In July, it hired a new chief executive, Glenn Murphy, a former Canadian drugstore executive. It also recently named Patrick Robinson, formerly artistic director for Paco Rabanne, as design chief for its namesake brand.

Oldham was unavailable for an interview Friday, but his spokesman, Greg Rossiter, said Oldham would help Old Navy differentiate itself from its competitors.

"He just has an eye for what's relevant, what's current," he said.

Stevenson thinks enlisting Oldham makes sense.

"I think it's a thoughtful, strategic alliance, and it could be very exciting to watch him put his spin on the Old Navy brand," she said. "I certainly think it's a match because of his exuberant youthful style."

But the executive director of the California Fashion Assn. gave a thumbs down to the appointment of Oldham, who in the past has considered himself a textile designer first and foremost and has not focused on apparel in recent years. It would have been smarter to find a fresh, young apparel designer, Ilse Metchek said.

And although retailers increasingly look to celebrities and big-name designers to give their brands a little zing, it doesn't work to employ a well-known designer as "a life vest," Metchek said. "It doesn't work in a turnaround."

I work for old navy. We're in a slump because whoever does the merchandising just can't seem to get it right. They send us too much of the ugliest items and too little of the hot ones. And I suppose they haven't figured out that most of customers want effortless style. They don't want to think. We had these trapeze dresses and the customers didn't know what to do with them. We displayed them with no belt, no shrug, no jacket, no anything. Then wonder why we had to pack up 100 boxes of merchandise and send it back.

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As much as I dislike saying it, Old Navy is in dire need of a different direction. I don't think their clothing should be changed too much, since they've already got a concrete image, but it just seems like there's something missing in their pieces. I like going in their stores occasionally and purchasing the basic shirt or dress, but that's all I do. If they created more interesting and eclectic clothing, while keeping the same price, I may shop more.